1. Filed of Invention
The invention relates generally to a brake assist assembly for use with agricultural bagging machines, and more specifically, to a brake assist assembly that enhances compaction of material during bagging by creating resistance effective in assisting the positional maintenance of a bagging machine in operation.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Agricultural bagging machines are well known in the prior art. As a substitute for large, immovable, and expensive vertical silos, horizontal agricultural bags offer many advantages for storing crop materials, and are, in effect, upright silos laid on a side. Bag filling machines, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,412,567, and 4,484,606, are power driven and include an auger mechanism adapted to force crop material into a large bag releasably attached to the bag-filling machine. Bagging machines include a material inlet hopper, typically a conveyor of some type, and then move the input material toward the output end of the machine with a power driven auger or similar conveyance apparatus.
A large bag formed of an impervious material is attached to the output end of a bagging machine. The bag releasably affixes to the bagging machine, and includes a plurality of pleats that unfold as the bag is filled with material. The weight of the material in the bag keeps the bag in place on the ground. The bagging machine, typically mounted to a tractor, moves forward to unfurl the bag to allow for continued filling. Eventually, the bag is completely filled with crop material fed by the auger, and creates essentially a horizontal temporary storage silo.
One difficultly encountered with bagging machines comprises the ability to control the amount of compaction of the material in the bag. Variations in the density and compressibility of crop material require variability in the resistance of the bagging machine to movement during filling in order to obtain the desired amount of material compaction in the filled bag. Prior art bagging machines use some manner of manual resistance to provide the correct resistance for desired material compaction, in addition to brakes provided on the wheels of the tractor and/or on the wheels of the bagging machine.
Prior art solutions include the use of an adjustable cable, or cables, to increase or decrease the compaction within the bag. This adjustable cable is rigidly connected to the machine on one end, and is removable or disconnectable at the other end. Compaction is achieved by the increase or decrease in the cable length itself, or in the increase or decrease in the number of cables. The cable provides resistance to the free movement of material into the fill bag, which when combined with the rate of movement of the tractor and bagging machine, controls the level of compaction of the material in the fill bag. One difficulty encountered with this approach is cables, and other devices, can be very difficult to remove from the bag. With one end of the cable attached to the bagging machine, and the balance of the cable embedded in the fill bag, simply pulling the cable through the bag with the tractor and bagging machine can result in damage to the bagging machine. In those instances where the cable is even more deeply embedded in the bag, the lack of separation between the fill bag and the bagging machine makes it difficult to utilize heavier equipment to assist in removal.
Thus, a need exists for an effective braking mechanism that can be more easily removed from the fill bag.
An object of the present invention comprises providing a bagging machine having a brake assist mechanism for moving material into a material receptacle at a predetermined compaction level.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.
The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, a bagging machine is provided that includes a frame for supporting the components of the bagging machine. The components of the bagging machine include an inlet hopper for receiving the material for compaction and moving it into the bagging machine, a compaction zone having a power compaction device located therein, wherein the compaction device conveys the material from the inlet hopper into the compaction zone, a material receptacle for receiving the material upon its exit from the compaction zone; and a brake assist mechanism assisting in, and at least partially controlling the level of, compaction of the material. The brake assist mechanism comprises a cable having a first and a second free end releasably secured to the frame such that a substantial portion of the cable lies between the compaction zone and the material receptacle, a star with a restriction plate secured to the cable, and wherein brake assist mechanism assists with the compaction of the material by resisting the movement of the material from the compaction zone into the material receptacle.